Honorable Harvest Quotes

“Is the land a source of belongings, or a source of belonging?”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer

“The Honorable Harvest…does not say don’t take, but offers inspiration and a model for what we should take. It’s not so much a list of “do not’s” as a list of “do’s.” Do eat food that is honorably harvested, and celebrate every mouthful. Do use technologies that minimize harm; do take what is given. This philosophy guides not only our taking of food, but also any taking of the gifts of Mother Earth–air, water, and the literal body of the earth: the rocks and soil and fossil fuels.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

“Taking coal buried deep in the earth, for which we must inflict irreparable damage, violates every precept of the code [of honorable harvest]. By no stretch of the imagination is coal 'given to us'. We have to wound the land and water to gouge it from Mother Earth.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Democracy of Species

“We need acts of restoration, not only for polluted waters and degraded lands, but also for our relationship to the world. We need to restore honor to the way we live, so that when we walk through the world we don't have to avert our eyes with shame, so that we can hold our heads up high and receive the respectful acknowledgement of the rest of the earth's beings.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Democracy of Species

“Do eat food that is honorably harvested, and celebrate every mouthful. Do use technologies that minimize harm; do take what is given... It doesn't mean that we can't consume the energy we need, but it does mean that we honorably take only what is given.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

“You sound like my grandmother, back in my village in Turkey... The Honorable Harvest is her way, too. In her house, we learned that everything we put in our mouths, everything that allows us to live, is the gift of another life... My grandma wouldn't let us forget that these are all gifts, which is why you take care of everything, to show respect for that life..." The student told me that, when she came to the United States, the greatest culture shock she experienced was not language or food or technology, but waste.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

“Animals have to die for us to live, but they don't have to suffer," he says.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

“We know how to do this. And what's more, we crave doing it, feeling more alive with every gift exchange. 44

We live in the tension between what is and what is possible. 47

[b]The Honorable Harvest[/b]
Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.
Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last.
Take only what you need.
Take only that which is given.
Never take more than half. Leave some for others.
Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken.
Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken. Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever. 64-65”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer; Naoko Miki

“We know how to do this. And what's more, we crave doing it, feeling more alive with every gift exchange. 44

We live in the tension between what is and what is possible. 47

The Honorable Harvest
Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.
Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last.
Take only what you need.
Take only that which is given.
Never take more than half. Leave some for others.
Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken.
Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever. 64-65”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer; Naoko Miki, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World